'COVID-19' Spreads in Asia... Singapore Reports 67 Cases, Malaysia 21 Cases Confirmed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is spreading in Southeast Asia as well.

The Singapore Ministry of Health reported 9 new confirmed cases the day before, bringing the total number of patients to 67, according to local media on the 15th.

Singapore authorities are investigating whether there is a so-called 'super spreader' after 13 people, including employees of a church, were consecutively confirmed positive.

Not only was this the largest daily increase, but all 9 new patients were found to have not recently traveled to China.

Among them, 6 were either employees of the same church located in Tanglin and Bukit Batok or related family members.

Previously, 2 confirmed patients were reported at this church on the 12th, and 5 more were confirmed on the 13th.

On the same day, Malaysian health authorities announced that a 27-year-old Chinese male and a 32-year-old Chinese female tested positive for COVID-19.

The man in his 20s is a businessman who was identified during quarantine while entering Malaysia through the Thailand border, and the woman, who originally resided in Malaysia, tested positive after returning from visiting family in China from the 22nd to the 30th of last month.

So far, among the 21 confirmed cases in Malaysia, 15 are Chinese nationals and 6 are Malaysians. Among them, 7 Chinese patients have recovered and been discharged.

Meanwhile, Indonesia currently has zero confirmed cases. The Indonesian government lifted quarantine on 285 people today, including 238 Koreans repatriated from Wuhan, China by charter flight, 42 participants in the transport operation, and 5 staff members of the Indonesian Embassy in China.

Some have raised questions such as "Is the testing capacity insufficient or is there intentional concealment?" but the Indonesian government stated, "There is nothing being hidden."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.